Profile: William DaleyWhite House spokesman to quit jobEx-Obama aide unveils Chicago bidPresident Barack Obama has named bank executive and former commerce secretary William Daley as the next White House chief of staff.

He replaces interim chief of staff Pete Rouse, who is to remain at the White House as a counsellor to Mr Obama.

"I am convinced he will help us in our mission of growing our economy," Mr Obama said at the White House.

Analysts say Mr Daley will help the president repair relationships with big business.

"He's led major corporations. He possesses a deep understanding of how jobs are created and how to grow our economy," Mr Obama said of Mr Daley, who served as commerce secretary under former President Bill Clinton and is an executive with JPMorgan Chase.

'Genetic trait'

Mr Daley, 62, is also a Chicago native and the son and brother of longtime mayors of that city, where Mr Obama spent most of his adult years before moving to Washington in 2005.

His brother Richard Daley is soon to retire as mayor of Chicago, and Mr Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, also a Chicagoan, left the White House three months ago to run for the job. Mr Emanuel was replaced temporarily by Mr Rouse.

His friends contend Mr Daley's an operator, and perhaps he's got the job for that reason alone”

Mark MardellBBC North America editorMardell: Obama eyes big businessThe announcement came a day after White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told his staff that he intends to leave his post by the end of February.

Mr Obama is reported to be considering numerous changes to his staff as he begins to prepare for the 2012 elections and to confront the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Among other changes in the Obama administration, adviser David Axelrod will soon be leaving the White House as well as both of Mr Obama's deputy chiefs of staff, Jim Messina and Mona Sutphen.

Profile: William DaleyWhite House spokesman to quit jobEx-Obama aide unveils Chicago bidPresident Barack Obama has named bank executive and former commerce secretary William Daley as the next White House chief of staff.

He replaces interim chief of staff Pete Rouse, who is to remain at the White House as a counsellor to Mr Obama.

"I am convinced he will help us in our mission of growing our economy," Mr Obama said at the White House.

Analysts say Mr Daley will help the president repair relationships with big business.

"He's led major corporations. He possesses a deep understanding of how jobs are created and how to grow our economy," Mr Obama said of Mr Daley, who served as commerce secretary under former President Bill Clinton and is an executive with JPMorgan Chase.

'Genetic trait'

Mr Daley, 62, is also a Chicago native and the son and brother of longtime mayors of that city, where Mr Obama spent most of his adult years before moving to Washington in 2005.

His brother Richard Daley is soon to retire as mayor of Chicago, and Mr Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, also a Chicagoan, left the White House three months ago to run for the job. Mr Emanuel was replaced temporarily by Mr Rouse.

His friends contend Mr Daley's an operator, and perhaps he's got the job for that reason alone”

Mark MardellBBC North America editorMardell: Obama eyes big businessThe announcement came a day after White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told his staff that he intends to leave his post by the end of February.

Mr Obama is reported to be considering numerous changes to his staff as he begins to prepare for the 2012 elections and to confront the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Among other changes in the Obama administration, adviser David Axelrod will soon be leaving the White House as well as both of Mr Obama's deputy chiefs of staff, Jim Messina and Mona Sutphen.

England won the final Ashes Test in Sydney by an innings and 83 runs to wrap up the series 3-1 and secure their first win down under in 24 years.The Aussies began the last day in a hopeless position at 213-7, 151 runs behind, but Peter Siddle and Steve Smith kept England's champagne on ice.Siddle finally went for 43 when slog-sweeping spinner Graeme Swann.James Anderson removed Ben Hilfenhaus before Chris Tremlett bowled Michael Beer with the score on 281.Smith, who was rewarded for some bold shots, was unbeaten on 54 having added 86 with Siddle.Anderson, the leader of England's pace attack, finished with 3-61 for 23 wickets in the series. It was the best haul by an England bowler in Australia since Frank "Typhoon" Tyson collected 28 in 1954-55.He said afterwards: "It's been a great tour for us, an amazing sort of feeling for us retaining the Ashes last week and winning the series this week.

The tour has been a joyous one for England fans"I'm delighted with my form this trip, enjoying my role in the team leading the attack. My job has been made easy by the guys at the other end, Steven Finn and Stuart Broad at the start of the series and Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan later on, and our fielding has been amazing."We've been working really hard on it, the catches we've taken this series are better than any I remember in any other series."Paul Collingwood, given the honour of leading out the England team in his final Test, said: "Today is absolute number one. It's a special, special day and I can't think of a better way to step out of Test cricket. A lot of guys in the dressing room put a lot of hard work in to achieve this."My role in the side is to score runs, I'm disappointed I haven't done that. But four years ago I scored a double century and we lost 5-0 and I much prefer it this way round. We deserve it."Victorious skipper Andrew Strauss joined Sir Len Hutton and Mike Brearley to become the third England captain to win Ashes series at home and away.It was the first time any team had won three Tests by an innings in a single series away from home. The last time England had done it against any opponents, India, had been in 1959.It was also the first time Australia had lost three Tests at home since 1988-89, when Viv Richards' world-beating West Indies side also won by a 3-1 margin.Alastair Cook was both man of the match and man of the series, having hit 189 in Sydney and 766 across all five matches."It's been an amazing series for me, I couldn't imagine this seven weeks ago," he said."The double hundred [in Brisbane] was a very special moment for me and to win man of the match in the final game of the Ashes is a dream come true."Our bowlers have been fantastic throughout the whole series, they've made our job as batters far easier."